It was a great honor for me to be elected President of the Association at December's meeting. To follow Bill Henzel is a daunting task and I would like to thank him for his great work over the last 2 years. He has done an outstanding job with great dedication and care.

Bill was the key driver in our very successful 25 year anniversary celebration last year arranging for Sam Maloof to be our keynote speaker. During his presidency he promoted many ways to help the less fortunate including work for Rebuilding Together and showing slides of his trips to Kyrgyzstan and other places as a volunteer in Habitat for Humanity. He also encouraged the use of sustainable wood and made us more aware of the environment by telling of his trips to Yellowstone and other National Parks were many trees are dying due to the effect of global warning.

We also received advice/warnings on workshop building as we heard his tales of the trials and tribulations in the building of his 800 sq ft workshop which could easily be mistaken for an up market house.

So we move into a new year. Per and the other members of the Board have put together an interesting and varied agenda for the year's meetings with workshop visits, interesting presenters etc. We will also have many tool talks, technical talks and see examples of members work as well as participate in toy workshops to make wooden toys for some of the less fortunate children in the Bay area.

2008 will be an interesting year in which we will all benefit from increasing our woodworking knowledge and capabilities through our membership of BAWA.

Wishing you all success with you projects in the New Year.